A Writer's Destiny
by bluesky1983
Summary: What if something bad happened to Castle? Will Beckett be able to save him and finally admit her feelings or will there always be the "What if...?". (end of season 4) Please r&r!
1. Chapter 1

_First of all: I don't own Castle or any of it's characters. Although I would love to, because there wouldn't be hiatus then._

_This is my first Castle fanfiction and English is not my first language. But feel free to review honestly or write me a message if you want me to answer._

_It takes place at the end of season 4, so Kate and Rick aren't together yet._

_Thank you, Katherine Houghton Beckett, for editing. _

**Chapter 1 – At the bookstore**

"For Sarah, please", the young, blonde girl asked, handing him a copy of his book "Heat Rises" and looking at him as if he was her greatest idol. Richard Castle smiled at her and signed the book. The girl reminded him of Alexis somehow. She was the last of a several hundred fans who had come to this event and Castle felt very tired and his right hand hurt from all the signing. He stood up and strechted himself.

"Any plans for tonight?", a familiar female voice asked from behind him. " He slowly turned around to face his blonde ex-wife.

"I will go home and get some rest, Gina. And so should you." Gina looked at him disappointed. She still hoped that he would give her another chance but every time they tried it just didn't work. This time she was completely sure that she knew the reason.

"It's because of her, isn't it?", she asked, emphasizing the "her" as if she was talking about some poisonous animal.

Castle made a funny face: "I don't know who you are talking about. Let's get out of here. It's late and everybody is gone but us."

Of course he knew that she was talking about Kate Beckett; his extremely beautiful and smart partner and friend but he would rather bite off his tongue than telling his ex-wife about his feelings for Beckett.

"I don't think you...", Gina tried to answer but they were interupted by a loud shot outside the building.

"Stay here", Castle told Gina and while slowly walking towards the exit he dialled Becketts' number.

"Beckett?", her voice sounded tired as if she had already been asleep but as always Castle's heart skipped a beat when he heard it.

"Hey Beckett, it's me. I hope I didn't wake you. I'm at the bookstore on 65th street and there was a shot outside. I'm not sure yet what happened but maybe you should come."

"I was still up, just relaxing on the couch reading you...ah a book. I will be there in 10", Kate replied, knowing that Castle wouldn't have called her about this if it was nothing serious. She had just started reading "Naked Heat" for the fifth time and she had almost admitted this to him. Every time she read this book she pictured herself as Nikki Heat and Castle as Jameson Rook. Sometimes she thought she was only one little step away to get it on with him. She was sure that she just had to give him a sign and they could be more than just friends and partners. But she was too afraid to let love be the most important thing in her life. She had to solve her mother's murder first. When she had told Castle about her walls and that she wasn't ready yet, he had been very sweet and understanding but she was sure that he wouldn't wait for her forever. Every time another woman came too close to him she got extremely jealous and she couldn't help it. In her mind he was already her Rick and she didn't want to share him. But she didn't want to ruin their great friendship that had developed during the past four years either. So everytime there could have happened more she had backed off.

"Just stay where you are and try to stay out of trouble", she added quickly with a hint of concern in her voice. She hoped that he would for once take her advice but she knew that she had to hurry. She had always felt this need to protect him but at the same time she had always felt safe when he was with her.

"Ok, Beckett, I will...", Rick answered when suddenly Kate heard another shot and a sharp scream.

"Rick? What was that? What happened?", she asked, trying to hide the growing panic. When there was no answer and the phone went dead, Kate started running. She ran into a neighbor and almost fell down the stairs. When she reached her car, she tried to calm down. Her heart was racing and her hands were shaking. What if something bad had just happened to Rick? She still hadn't told him how she felt and that she could remember him telling her that he loved her after she got shot. In this moment Kate was absolutely sure that she loved him, too. She loved him more than anyone else in her entire life. She couldn't fight the tears that started to build up in her eyes. She had to save him. She needed to tell him how she felt because she couldn't go on like this anymore. She wanted to be with him, be his girlfriend, his one and done.

She arrived at the bookstore within 5 minutes. She had managed to call for backup but her colleagues would take 30 minutes and she knew she couldn't wait for them.

Kate jumped out of the car. The first thing she saw was the dead body of a young, blonde woman lying in front of the store in a puddle of blood. She had a nasty shotwound in her forehead. Kate swallowed and then tried to enter the bookstore. But the door wouldn't open. Either it was locked or blocked by something. Kate pulled her gun from the holster and walked to the back of the store to see if there was a back entrance. When she found it she was almost too afraid to go inside. She took a deep breath and pulled at the doorhandle.

The door wasn't locked.

Kate went inside. It was dark and she had to turn her Maglite on. Her weapon in one hand and the flashlight in the other she walked through the store. Her heart was racing and every muscle in her body was tense. When she finally saw him, her worst nightmare came true...

TO BE CONTINUED

_So, I know it is mean to end with a cliffhanger but hey, you got to keep it interesting. ;p_

_Please r&r. I would love to know if you want me to go on._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the reviews and your interest in this story._

_I still don't own Castle or any of it's characters. Hiatus is still killing me. I mean 3! more month?_

_Please feel free to review honestly or write me a message if you want me to answer._

**Chapter 2 – The Killer**

Kate recognized him immediately. The serial killer 3XK also known as Jerry Tyson was grinning back at her. He held a gun in his right hand and pointed it at her.

But that was not what scared Beckett most.

Two people lay motionless on the floor, and there was blood everywhere. One of them was Castle's ex-wife, Gina. Her body lay behind Tyson, her empty eyes staring at the ceiling. Beckett had no doubt that she was dead because of the ugly hole in her head, just like the one the young woman outside had suffered. Kate suppressed a scream that was building up inside her throat.

The other body was that of Castle. He was lying at the front door, blocking the entrance. Blood was pouring out of a shotwound in his upper left chest. He didn't move either, so Kate feared the worst.

It took her a few seconds to regain her cop instincts: "Drop your gun!", she shouted trying to hide the weakness in her voice.

Jerry Tyson just stood there without any reaction, still smiling.

"I said, drop your gun or I'll shoot you!", Kate was almost screaming now. Rage, anger, pain and sorrow started to mix inside her, just like when she'd dealt with her mother's case. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Not again. It had taken her so long to finally let somebody in again after her mother's death. And now, after all the struggles and all the pain, she had been willing to let her walls down; to let love be a part of her life again. She could barely think right now. Why Castle, why him? In that moment Kate wished that she hadn't survived her own shooting a year ago. She was aware that this thought was kind of selfish but she just could not imagine living her life without another person that she loved so much.

"Nice to see you, too, Detective.", Tyson answered coldly, then started laughing out loudly and walked backwards toward the back door where Beckett had come from. He never stopped pointing his gun at her.

"I gotta go. I will give you some alone time with your loved one now; maybe he can even still hear you telling him goodbye. But don't worry, you will meet him again soon enough if you don't find the bomb in time."

Before Kate could react, he pointed the gun at her flashlight and shot at it. It fell to the ground and there was nothing but darkness now.

She heard Tyson lock the back door and then she realized that she was shaking badly. She knew that it would be senseless to try to chase him right now and there was something far more important to do.

"Castle?", she asked into the darkness, pulling her iPhone out of her pocket to use it as a light. "Castle, can you hear me?"

There was no answer, and when she finally reached his body, she tried to check his pulse. When she couldn't find it, the tears started to flow as she broke down beside him. Her hands covered his face. He felt very cold and sweaty. "No, Rick, please, no. Don't leave me!", she cried, sobbing loudly. Then she softly kissed his forehead and rested her head against his. "I...I love you, too."

TO BE CONTINUED...

_So, not as much of a cliffhanger as in chapter 1 but I hope that you'll still come back for the story to see what happens next. I mean, there is still the bomb, Tyson was talking about. Many more chapters to come. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_I had nobody to beta read or edit this chapter, so please feel free to report any mistakes in spelling or grammar, so I can fix them._

_I'm glad that you liked the story so far. Feel free to review, I would love to know your thoughts._

**Chapter 3 – The Bomb Part I**

When Kate lay her hands on Castle's chest, she finally could feel his heartbeat. It was weak but it was still there. She let out a sound of relief and kissed his forehead again. Hope started to rise inside of her and she heard the sirens approaching. Help was on the way. „Hang in there, Rick, please!", she whispered and caressed his cheek. She took of her scarf and tried to put pressure on the shotwound to stop the bleeding but she realized soon enough that it was pointless. He would bleed to death if he wouldn't get medical care within the next few minutes.

She stood up, pulled Castle a few inches away from the door carefully and tried to open it to let the medics and her colleagues in, but she recognized some wires around the door handle. She followed them to their source in the corner of a little bookshelf. There it was, the bomb Tyson had talked about. It had a timer. The red digits were counting down. There were 30 minutes left.

She called the precinct to asked for a bomb squad but she knew there was barely enough time. She tried the back door but it was locked with a 4 digit security code. Tyson must have set it when he left.

Kate knew that she had to do something quick because the bomb would blow the whole building up and Rick would bleed to death before that.

She called Ryan to tell him about the bomb, too. Then she took her gun and tried to break the glass of the front window with its handle but it didn't work. She decided to give it a try and shot at the window but the bullet didn't do any damage. She realized the glass must be bulletproof as a result of many break-ins into stores in NY lately.

"I don't know what to do, Ryan!", she told her friend and colleague on the phone. "If we open the front door, the bomb goes off. For the back door there are too many possible combinations and there seems to be no other way in!" Kate felt the panic rising again.

She knelt down besides Castle. "I'm gonna find a way out of here, I promise", she told him, unsure if he could hear her. Ryan was still on the phone with her and said something in reply but she didn't listen because suddenly Castle started to move. It was more a shiver starting in his left arm but then his whole body began to shake and he opened his eyes.

Kate saw pure panic and pain in his blue eyes and she carefully lifted his head and placed it onto her lap. She tried to calm him down. "Rick, can you hear me? I'm right here." The shaking got a little better but didn't stop. She started to caress his hair with one hand and holding her phone in the other one.

"Beckett, can you hear me?", Ryan asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yes, Castle just woke up. Kevin, you gotta get us out of here. He's bleeding very badly and I cannot stop it!", Kate pleaded.

"K..Kate?", it was more a question than a statement and Rick's voice was very weak.

"Shh, don't speak. Everything is going to be ok!", she said, trying to convince herself with her own words.

"I...I'm glad you came", he managed to add hoarsely.

Kate looked at him and her heart ached seeing him so weak, not knowing if he would survive. If they would ever get the chance to be together.

She replied with the one word, they had used for each others encouragement in the past: "Always."

TO BE CONTINUED...


End file.
